The work and musings of Quilliam Collister watercolour artist and traveller

Other Watercolour Equipment and Materials

Palettes; are used by many artists, although some choose to use a white china plate or saucer. I like to use a folding or fixed palette with small wells along with largish pans for mixing colours. I squeeze paint from tubes into the small wells as required and although the paint does harden with time I can re-activate it by spraying water onto the palette with a mister bottle at the start of each painting session. As you can see I seldom clean my palette as it feel I would be wasting good paint. I do however clean individual pans when I need to mix a new colour.

Some palettes I use.

Masking fluid; or frisket is a liquid latex rubber in a suspension with water, which can be painted on to paper before paint is applied to enable the artist to retain the white paper colour in those areas. It dries as a rubbery surface on the paper, which can be painted over and rubbed off later.

Masking Fluid

Paper towels; or similar are important to my painting. I use them to lift wet paint off the paper, to control excess water on my brushes, to clean up my palette and for all sorts of other purposes.

A water container; can be almost anything that will hold water. I use a purpose made container with two water wells and brush holding holes when I am in the studio. But when I am travelling I often just cut the bottom off a drink bottle and use that.

Easels; are probably less use to a watercolour artist than they are to painters who use other mediums. I paint with a board on a table in the studio and on my knee when in the field. I like to tilt the board to allow the paper to run in any direction.